


Building Conflict

by Papallion



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Business AU, architect au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:15:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22874623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Papallion/pseuds/Papallion
Summary: Akande Ogundimu's architecture firm, Talon, needs a little shaking up since Overwatch is hiring again...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7
Collections: AkanDay 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> thank you, Dae, for betaing  
> you are a jewel among crows  
> shining, shimmering, and in danger of being carried away

Akande Ogundimu leaned against his desk, nursing a glass of cognac. He watched the twinkling lights of Amélie’s Bellflower Hotel shift from orchid, to lavender, and then pale blue. The French chateau-inspired hotel was forbidding and ornate, and the lights added an air of mystery. 

He turned to de Kuiper’s Star Tower, tall and whimsical. He had made many engineers sob with his demands and ideas. Despite the mathematically sound principles he worked with, de Kuiper’s designs all had an air of grandeur and wonder. His towers reached for the stars like rockets straining for the stars with few, is any, concerns about something as pesky as gravity.

Moira’s skyscraper with its tall, narrow spires loomed just out of the corner of his office window. He enjoyed her work on a technical level. She made engineers cry, too, but for totally different reasons. Moira was methodical, with clinical precision and demanding physics. Somehow she had managed to hide a Naruto reference in each piece she built, some taking years for fans to find.

He couldn’t see Olivia’s work, since she designed apartments on the other side of the city, but her colorful, organic shapes were a joy. Most people couldn’t see the amounts of technology hidden in her ‘quaint little designs,’ though. She was truly one of the most high-tech people in the business.

Talon’s buildings dominated the landscape and drew tourists from all around the world.

Lately, though, Overwatch Architecture had been drawing eyes. A magazine had even had the gall to suggest that Talon was growing stale, that Akande’s designers were one-trick ponies. Could Moira do something without those sharp points and narrow columns? Did Amélie ever do anything that wasn’t so French? Did Akande himself ever consider doing something modern? Someone had even called his works lumpy and basic.

Akande built with his surroundings in mind. Was there anything as graceful as organic buildings built with their environment instead of on top of it? He didn’t just make a functional-yet-bland building like John Francis Morrison did and plop it in the middle of a city street. Energy efficient, yes. Environmentally friendly, sure. Functional and easy to upkeep, yes. Easy on the eyes and reflective on the soul, no. 

Morrison’s old Overwatch head office was still in the middle of Akande’s view, a functional Lego block construction built to last at least until the heat death of the universe.

Morrison’s buildings were, at least, suited to poor areas where the easy upkeep and sturdiness meant things would be replaced less, and when something did need repair, it was easy and inexpensive.

And boring.

Akande took another sip and the door to his office pinged, and in walked one of his most valuable assets, and greatest annoyances.

“Jefe, I have news!” Olivia Colomar announced as she flung her jacket on the secretary’s desk. “You would NEVER guess what went down tonight at Overwatch,” Olivia teased. She flopped in the chair in front of his desk and rotated so her legs fell over the arms. “They’ve got a new architect!” 

“Sit up straight,” he demanded, and she laughed at him.

“You’ll also never guess the other person they signed on.” Olivia reached over and grabbed a tumbler and held it out.

Akande sighed and dropped some ice in it, then a generous serving of cognac.

He waited for Olivia to take a few sips, then watched as she sat up. “Well?” he finally asked, curiosity burning at him.

“Well,” she said in the same tone, “Shimada joined.” She took a drink and enjoyed Akande’s eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise.

“What?” Akande almost dropped his glass. “Isn’t he back in Asia? How could he rejoin them after how Overwatch treated him before? They butchered his works! Made monstrosities of them.” 

Overwatch Architecture had taken Shimada Genji’s organic, Japanese inspired plans and models and added so much machinery they were no longer recognizable as inspired by the quiet Japanese city he had grown up in. They had taken his simple arches and roofs and added skylights and solar panels without a single thought for their appearance. They destroyed the simple flowing lines he loved to work with.

“Wrong Shimada.” Olivia grinned at Akande’s face, which was now showing clear horror.

“Shimada Hanzo refused three of my offers! Now he’s working with his brother? I thought they hated each other!” he mused.

The brothers had fought over the family company after the death of their parents. It quickly became physical and resulted in personal injury to both parties, and the younger fleeing to the States in order to escape. The older brother had remained in Japan, but their family business had crumbled as Genji absorbed their clients. Then, Hanzo had vanished, until recently he reappeared, now specializing in interior design. 

Akande mused on this. If the brothers reconciled, it could mean substantial financial gain for Overwatch Architecture. After a minute of watching the Bellflower Hotel change from pale blue to pink, he took another sip, and looked back to Olivia. “And the second?”

“You’re not gonna liiiiike thiiiiis!” she sang, and slung her legs over the side of the chair again.

“Out with it,” he hissed.

“Remember that guy you hired to design that hospital?” she asked and ran a finger around the lip of her tumbler.

Akande almost cracked his glass with how his muscles reflexively tensed. He put it down and took a deep breath. 

Jean-Baptiste Augustin had been a promising young designer, and Akande himself had put him through school. Augustine had quit Talon after several younger officers had stolen millions of dollars from clients, citing ‘lack of morals’ and ‘dangerous code violations’ as his main reason.

“Well, it turns out he’s friends with Ziegler. They’re re-designing the old Chu hospital, updating it and bringing it into the twenty fifth and a half century or something.” 

As Akande moved to the bar to grab a second bottle of cognac he gripped Olivia’s ankles and rotated her so she faced forward.

She simply laughed her bright laugh, kicked off her shoes with the individual toes, and crossed her legs. “Did you know that most western movies are actually old samurai movies, just remade with cowboys?” she asked, and took another drink. She held her glass out, and after a moment of hesitation, Akande topped it off. “Gracias.”

He sat back down at his desk and turned his chair to examine the hotel again. “We need new blood.” If Olivia’s information was true, which it usually was, they now had to deal with the fusion of McCree’s ‘McWestern’ and the Shimada brothers’ traditional Japanese style. He could see it working, and that infuriated him.

A simple ranch house with Hanzo’s minimalist decoration. A playful Japanese inn with a cowboy’s touch. He needed to distract himself.

“How’s your project on Ravassa Avenue?” he asked.

“I found this picturesque little village in Italy. The color palette reminds me so much of home,” she mused. “It will go perfectly with the adobe style. I’m using a new form of solar lights this time around.” She reached over to Akande’s desk and grabbed one of his cookies.

Olvia, more than anything, loved designing beautiful yet easily affordable homes with energy efficient lights and heat. She was trying to build an entire suburb where people may never run out of renewable energy. 

“The problem is that Space Man and Junior aren’t getting along right now, so getting said solar panels has been tricky.”

Harold Winston Junior and Seibren de Kuiper had a falling out a few months after Harold Winston Senior’s unfortunate passing. Junior had wanted Senior’s research into solar power be made free to all, which Seibren had wanted to put the profits into more research and supplying people with said solar power. The case was still being debated in court, so inexpensive solar panels were in short supply. 

While Akande profited off their little feud with his own solar panels, he didn’t really like it. Still, competition was a great motivator, and both had created some of their most imaginative works while competing.

As the Bellflower repeated its color cycle, a thought built itself in his head.

“I know that smile, you’ve got an idea, jefe!” Olivia said in a teasing voice. 

“When are Shimada and Augustin being signed?” he asked.

“Resources say by the twentieth for Shimada, and the end of next month for Agustin. Gotta get some old paperwork out of the way,” she said as she flipped through the notes on her phone.

“Let Mauga know he’s got some competition. It’s just a rumor, mind you, but I might need a new designer. His last building didn’t go so well, did it?” Akande asked, and raised an eyebrow. “And bring me every scrap of paper Augstin ever signed.”

“You got it.” Olivia snagged the last cookie, stood up, and saluted jauntily. “See you at the meeting next week!”

Akande watched as she sauntered off, ever confident in herself. He pulled out an old sketchpad and doodled a little, wondering what it would take to get Maximilian to approve a field trip without him fussing too much.


	2. Chapter 2

Gabriel Reyes had been waiting for Akande in the hall, but Akande simply opened the conference room and let him inside. Gabriel was dressed in an ancient hoodie and jeans, of all things. Did Jack Morrison dress him today? His sloppiness irritated Akande. They were a Fortune Five Hundred company! They did not work out of someone’s basement.

Sanjay Korpal was also a few minutes early and eager to nitpick some small detail on his contract. He shoved past Gabriel, and Akande did his best to keep an even tone. “I need to discuss a clause in my contract.”

“Yes, Sanjay, we’ll discuss that after the meeting. Please, take a seat.” Akande gestured to the table, and Sanjay took a seat near the head. 

“Akande, I need to speak to you, too, in private” Gabriel insisted, but Akande simply put a hand on his shoulder.

“In a few minutes, Gabriel,” Akande insisted and turned to the great Elizabeth Ashe, a fantastic interior decorator. “Elizabeth, it’s good to see you again!”

“You saw me at dinner last night,” she said as she walked by, dragging a finger along his collar. “And at breakfast.” Ashe turned to Gabriel. “Good morning, Gabriel.”

Gabriel shook his head and took his seat, and Sanjay Korpal quickly started to speak again.

“Mr. Ogundimu, I would like to speak to you about clause 27B/6 in my contract,” Sanjay began again.

Akande ignored him to greet the others as they came in. “Bren, Moira, how are you? Please, take a seat. There are refreshments.”

Siebren de Kuiper and Moira O’Deorain, of course, were on time. 

Amélie and Mauga sauntered in with a minute to spare, and Olivia was somehow only four minutes late, which was a new record for her.

“Akande, a word, please?” Gabriel asked again as Akande counted heads. 

Sanjay had taken as close a seat as he could, and Olivia had sat at his right. The others were scattered comfortably around the table, with Amélie sitting on the chair directly across from his. She was sitting so her Bellflower Hotel was frame perfectly behind her, resembling a throne fit for an empress.

“Are we all here?” Akande muttered, then hit the old chess clock on the table.

The others fell silent and sat up straight. After a moment Gabriel slouched down. “Thank you all for coming,” Akande said in his smooth voice. “This will be a short meeting, and yes, Sanjay, we will talk after. Now, there’s been a family reunion, one that might prove problematic for us.”

“Let me guess,” Gabriel said dryly. “The Shimada brothers are back together.”

“Yes, actually,” Akande confirmed. He enjoyed watching Gabriel try to keep the surprise off of his face. “The brothers’ skills were legendary before they fought. Now that they’ve matured and come into their own styles, we need to keep an eye on them. Keep an eye out for any interior decorators, we could use a few more. I don’t know if you’ve been listening to the rumors, but a friend of ours might be rejoining the word of design.”

“If you mean Jean-Baptiste,” Mauga snapped, “he’s been talking to that blonde from Overwatch.” He all but spat Agustin’s name out.

Everyone could hear the bitter disappointment in Mauga’s voice, and they could see it in his face despite his best efforts. He gripped one of his beaded bracelets and rubbed it between his fingers. He and Jean-Baptiste were supposed to work together. They dragged themselves out of poverty, they were supposed to have each other’s back!

“I had wondered where he went,” Moira mused. “He’s working with Angie?” She exhaled as she thought. Moira had never imagined her ex-girlfriend would wind up working with an ex-Talon designer. It made sense, the supposed. Angela was good at designing workplaces with a natural and efficient flow of traffic, while Agustin was excellent at re-purposing existing structures to fill the needs of the modern era. The old Chu hospital needed just such a treatment. Moira’s eyes widened, and she collected herself. “She got the Chu contract, didn’t she?”

“She did,” Akande confirmed. Before he could continue Magua slapped the table.

“So,” Mauga asked, “how many NDAs did Jeanie sign?” He leaned back in his chair. It groaned in pain under the massive man but the rest of the table ignored the noise.

When Mauga dug his fingernails into his palm, Siebren reached into his pocket and pulled out a fidget toy. It was a small hinged cube with pictures of moons, stars, and nebulae.

Mauga took it and nodded his thanks, then calmed himself down by folding and unfolding the cube.

“Quite a few,” Akande said and tapped the file on the table. 

“You put him under some rather,” Siebren said, pausing as he searched for the word. “Strict? A strict contact.”

“Draconian,” Gabriel offered, and Siebren nodded. “Anything he drew, doodled, scribbled while on Talon time is Talon property.” He looked over to Olivia. “I take it you found them all?”

“Every scrap I could,” she agreed and tapped the file under Akande’s hand.

Akande gently waved her hand away. “Gabriel is correct. Anything he created while under the employ of Talon is Talon intellectual property.”

“Yeah, I have experience with that,” Gabriel muttered quietly. “You can seriously keep him from designing anything for years to come.”

“Well, he did abandon Kande,” Ashe said and leaned forward. “You don’t abandon your family. And we are all family here.”

“Yeah, about that,” Gabriel said with a sigh. He ran his hand through his salt and pepper curls. “I am not a full time Talon architect, and Jack isn’t full time for Overwatch anymore, not since Zürich. Akande, I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to tell you for a week now, but you’re so busy. You skipped our lunch date yesterday, then we were supposed to meet this morning and you called this meeting. Look, Jack’s retiring, we’re not young men any more. You don’t have to worry about us, we’ve got a good retirement fund set up. You guys have fun trying to ruin a man’s career, Jack’s waiting for me.” 

Gabriel stood, waved, and walked out. He paused at the door. “You’re better than this.”

Akande’s hand shook briefly and he tried to maintain his composure.

The others sat in stunned silence, until Sanjay stood up, wavering on his feet ever-so-slightly.

“He can’t just, can he DO that?” he asked.

“Why, that snake-mouthed varmint!” Ashe snapped as she slapped the table. “I should have Bob slash his tires! Bob!” She looked around before remembering her faithful butler was waiting for her in the lobby of Akande’s offices. She pulled out her phone to shoot him a text.

Siebren stood up and tucked his chair in. “Gabriel, wait!” he called and followed. “I’ll be back,” he said before he shut the door behind him.

Amélie turned her chair, lazily stood up, and walked to the window. “Hm. Morrison,” she mused, pointing to the road below them. 

Akande walked to the window, needing some physical activity to distract himself, and looked down.

He could just make out a motorcycle parked in front, a figure leaning against it.

Akande returned to his seat and shuffled his papers.

  
  


It only took a moment for Siebren to catch up to Gabriel on his long legs. “Gabriel?” he asked quietly.

“Hey, Bren.” Gabriel paused at the elevator, but didn’t push the button. “This is not the way I wanted to leave. I wanted to do it quietly, but then this mess came up. He can’t treat people like this. I mean, legally, yes, it’s perfectly legal to cripple Agustin. But should her? Morally? I know he’s upset the man left, but that doesn’t give him the right to treat him like this.”

“It makes financial sense,” Siebren said in a defeated voice. “You’re right, though, this is a very cruel thing to do. And I don’t think I can talk him out of it.”

Gabriel took one of Siebren’s hands. “Bren, you are not the reason I’m leaving. Hell, this entire day is not why I’m leaving. Jack and I, we just need a rest. He hasn’t had a lot of confidence since Zürich, and I’ve been burned out lately.”

“Zürich wasn’t Jack’s fault!” Siebren insisted. “That building was designed for a drier, warmer area. They didn’t even plan for the foundation to deal with frost heaving! If anything—” He stopped as Gabriel placed his other hand on his arm, swallowing heavily.

“It’s OK, but having an entire apartment building collapse really isn’t good for you. He’s been shy ever since,” Gabriel said softly. He sighed and shook his head. “At least no one was killed.”

Petras Construction should have been the one to take the blame for building without taking a Swiss winter into consideration. The foundation had heaved with the cold and splintered, then a massive crack had appeared from the ground to the second floor. Everyone had been evacuated safely, but the entire building had to be demolished. Not everyone was able to claim their possessions, leaving many families homeless and with very little to their name.

Petras had firmly placed the blame on Jack, claiming that Jack had not given enough information in the plans. How was Petras supposed to know he couldn't build that building in Zürich? There had been backlash from the architectural community, rumors that Jack had taken payments to ignore flaws to make the building look nicer.

Jack had quietly accepted it all and removed himself from Overwatch Architecture, becoming a freelance agent. He knew the damage wasn’t his fault, but he didn’t fight Petras hard enough when he bought the plans. The fact that people had been injured in one of his buildings demoralized him, and he simply didn’t have the strength to fight when it mattered.

“I just know how large life changes can affect a man,” Siebren said. He wasn’t too fond of change.

“Bren, I’ll be here if you need to talk.” Gabriel gave Siebren’s arm another squeeze. “Just because I’m not working with you doesn’t mean we still can’t be friends.”

“I appreciate it, Gabriel, honest. I do have Akande, though. He’s actually a good listener,” Siebren said softly.

Gabriel thought back to a few minutes ago, when Akande kept cutting him off. “I guess he is, eventually.”

Siebren sighed. “When, after Harold,” he said and faltered a little. “You know I fell apart.”

“I’m sorry about that.” Gabriel’s voice was soft. “You loved him.” 

“Thank you. But Junior, he worked through his grief. Always busy, always productive. He kept pushing me to work, work, work! But Akande checked in on me, made sure I ate, made sure I slept. He paid for my apartment and never asked to be repaid. He knew what worked for Junior didn’t work for me.”

“He did the same for Amélie. Made sure she ate. He took her dancing one night.” Gabriel sighed. He really was fond of Akande. “He’s not a bad man. I’ll call him up in a few days, give him time to cool down.”

Siebren nodded. “I’m going back in. If you and Jack want to talk about interior design, I’m free next week.”

The two said their goodbyes and Siebren returned to the meeting. As he took his seat Ashe leaned forward. It seems he had missed some argument about Augustin.

She tapped a finger in the air. “Why, Kande, I never thought you of all people would be afraid of a little competition,” she said in a syrupy voice. “Are you really so afraid of this August fellow, or are you just mad he left once his morals grew teeth.”

Akande leaned back and considered for a moment.

“I do believe you are right, Elizabeth. We are not afraid of Augustin.” He picked up the paperwork, pulled out three pages, sorted it back into some semblance of order, and handed it back to Olivia. “File this. If these three designs go into production then we’ll take legal action.”

Olivia tucked the three designs into a new file, scribbled a few notes, and tucked them into her messenger bag. “Got it, jefe.”

“Everyone, prepare for a trip. We’re going to northern Asia to study Chinese, Mongolian and Russian design. We are missing certain influences and I want fresh inspirations. I will also be starting an incentive program. Each time you sell a design and Overwatch doesn’t, you will receive a cash bonus. Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to war.”

There was a soft murmur of surprise, which Akande ignored as he continued the meeting. There wasn’t much left to discuss, and things wrapped up quickly. 

That night Akande went over the trip plan. Originally he had planned for his architects to visit Italy, but he decided a trip to Asia would be more productive in the long run. After all, competition and personal growth are great ways to get results.


End file.
